Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is a teamsport in golf between Europe and the US, and it's played every other year. It's right after men's major, the world's largest golf tournament, in size. Betting companies offer odds for the Ryder Cup prior to and during the tournament. You will find the odds at any betting company worthy of the name.

The next tournament will launch in the autumn of 2016 at the Hazeltine National Golf Club and prior to the tournament, betting companies offer odds on winner and what team that gets to hold the trophy. Europe has been dominating the cup since the 1990s with eight wins out of twelve tournaments. Will Europe continue to dominate the Ryder Cup? Visit the betting companies and explore the odds on offer.

Ryder Cup has a long and rich history, going as far back as 1927. The first tournament was then held between Great Britain and the US. The rest of Europe became Great Britain's teammates as late as 1979. Europe and Great Britain take turns in hosting the tournament, which is held every other year.

It was the English businessman Samuel Ryder who founded the competition. He walked his father's footsteps and started up a mail order company in gardening. The establishment made Ryder a very wealthy man and in the autumn of his life he really took to golf. The money that his business had made him, made it possible for Ryder to sponsor several golf tournaments.

Golf was no longer just a hobby for Ryder. He decided to organize an unofficial competition between Great Britain and the US in 1926. The British captain George Duncan, liked the competition so much that he suggested that it would be a recurring tradition ­ which is how things turned out. The first official competition was held the following year.

The players acquire their places by a qualifying system. The American team has a scoring system which gives the best eight players a spot on the team ­ the four remaining spots are filled by players chosen by the captain. The European team is put together by the best five European players according to the world ranking; the Order of Merit and the captain chooses an additional two players.

The tournament lasts for three days ­ from Friday through Sunday. During the Friday and Saturday four foursome­matches and four best ball­matches are played between two players from each team. The Sunday is the last and final day when twelve single matches are played ­ one player from Europe and one from the US in each match.

From an historical perspective, USA has dominated the Ryder Cup. When Europe were not yet part of the tournament the US won 15 out of 19 tournaments, one competition ended in a tie and Great Britain only managed to win 3 of them. Ireland joined Great Britain’s team in 1973, but it did not have much of an impact unfortunately. Europe joined Great Britain and Ireland in 1979, and since then the cup has become a lot more even.